Posted by: Chuck (jcsherwood8458@sbcglobal.net) on Sun Jan 9 18:12:57 2011

Coop,

I gather from your response that you do not subscribe to many of the key points of rotational hitting mechanics that Jack has so carefully depicted on this site. My point was simply that while there are many key rotational traits described in Leavy's analysis of Mantle's swing, there are also aspects of the analysis that Jack would probably put into the "myth" category. I only selected some of the major points that I believe Jack has debunked in his studies and was curious about his take on the book and its analysis. For example, too much emphasis on staying inside the ball can lead to bad drag as in the "fence drill". Also, the back side does not rotate around a "blocked" out front leg but rather the front leg locks out, or nearly locks out, at contact.

It appears to me that Mike Epstein was a big contributor to the analysis presented in the book. I have personally seen him discuss the law of angular momentum and use the figure skater analogy that appears in Leavy's book. I have also heard Epstein tell the story about Mickey in his boxers during the batting practice session, as depicted in the book.

Yes, there is much anaylsis in the book that deals with sound rotational hitting mechanics and you can get a definite feel for just why "the Mick" was so great. Just look at the photograph of him after the swing and miss, with the creases in the shirt, the rear knee bend, etc. But I also think that a portion of the analysis is flawed, as Jack has shown many times in his video analysis of many great hitters, not just Mantle. Just wondering what Jack would have said had he been asked to contribute to that chaper of the book.



> Chuck,
> The law of angular momentum tell us that if we pull the knob to the ball with flat hands being in a good hitting position (slightly bent at the waist) there is a connection between the back elbow which comes into the body and the rotation of the hips. This connection provides more power than prefabricating some sort of hip turn that in the most part generates a casting of the bat around the ball resulting in ground balls and missing outside pitches.
>
> In terms of the weight shift think of it as driving into a firm front side not against the front side. Lifting the back leg or at least getting your laces to the pitcher, heel to the sky (not squishing the bug) allows you to finish a complete weight transfer and drive the ball to all fields!
>
>
> > Have you read and do you have any commentary on the chapter in Jane Leavy's new book "The Last Boy" that analyzes Mickey Mantle's swing mechanics? Is it fair to say that the analysis has many strong rotational elements but also includes some flawed linear components?
> >
> >
> > On page 410 - "And , in the argot of hitting coaches, he kept his hands inside the ball, which means he kept them to himself. In so doing he was obeying what physicists call the law of conservation of angular momentum..."
> >
> > Page 411 - "Striding forward, Mantle threw all the accumulated force against his locked front leg, which is typical of left-handed power hitters."
> >
> > Page 412 - "As he moved forward, he lifted his back foot as much as 3 to 6 inches off the ground, prima facie evidence of a complete transfer of weight onto his front side."
> >
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Chuck